Abu Simbel - a hit on my bucket list.

Abu Simbel --- the name has fantastic connation’s – the awesome UNESCO inspired move of the whole massive temple in 1964 to save it from the new Aswan Dam; the story of Rameses II; the incredible etchings inside and of course the well known but unbelievable, though true, fact of the axis of the temple not illuminating Ptah’s statue. 

On the map, Abu Simbel is "C". Aswan is "B". 

We boarded our ship the previous evening at Aswan. Our travel itinerary referred to a half day excursion to Abu Simbel and sail by lunchtime. Nobody told us that we would be leaving at 5.00 am (which means wake up at 4.00 am at least!) for the three hour drive to Abu Simbel. As my diary records, I woke at 3.15 am, was ready by 4.00 am; we left shortly after at 4.30 am, reaching Abu Simbel at 7.30 am. The road was basically open desert, well tarred. Little traffic. We were at the site from 7.30 am to 9.30 am and returned back to the ship by 12.50 pm. 

After parking, we have to take a circuitous path which leads through a shopping arcade of pretty mediocre tourist souvenir shops. The path is a curve and you suddenly see in the far distance the two large statues well known thru the years as representing “Abu Simbel”.  It’s a sight which takes your breath away and more so, yet again, when you are standing directly in front of the two huge statues.  During his reign, Rameses II embarked on an extensive building program throughout Egypt and Nubia, which Egypt controlled. Nubia was very important to the Egyptians because it was a source of gold and many other precious trade goods. He therefore built several grand temples there so as to impress upon the Nubians of the Egypt's might and he wanted to Egyptianize the people of Nubia. The most famous temples are the rock-cut temples in Meha, now called Abu Simbel, at the Second Nile Cataract, the border between Lower Nubia and Upper Nubia. 

As we walked up close to the main temple, crowds of tourists were busy taking photographs of these huge statues. The complex consists of two main temples: The Grand Temple that stands 30 meters high and 35 meters long featuring four seated colossi at the entrance of King Rameses II on his throne.  It also contains a number of paths and rooms. Scripts could be found written on the walls about Rameses II military victories, his personal life alongside portrayals of ancient Egyptian gods. The larger one is dedicated to Ra-Harakhty,  Ptah and Amun, Egypt's three state deities of the time and features four large statues of Rameses II in the facade. 

The Small Temple was constructed for the Egyptian Queen Nefertari, Rameses II most favorite wife. Located 150 meters far away from the Grand Temple, the Small Temple has a front featuring four great seated colossi, two of Rameses II and two of Nefertari. The walls of this temple display images of Ramses and Nefertari while they’re praying to the gods. The smaller temple is dedicated to the goddess Hathor, personified by Nefertari, Rameses' most beloved of his many wives. 

The complex was moved and relocated in its entirety in 1968 under the supervision of a Polish archaeologist Kazimierz Michałowski, on an artificial hill made from a domed structure, high above the Aswan High Dam reservoir. The relocation of the temples was necessary or they would have been submerged during the creation of Lake Nasser, the massive artificial water reservoir formed after the building of the Aswan High Dam on the Nile River.

“Four colossal 20 meter statues of the pharaoh with the double Atef crown of Upper and Lower Egypt decorate the facade of the temple, which is 35 meters wide and is topped by a frieze with 22 baboons, worshippers of the sun and flank the entrance. All statues represent Rameses II, seated on a throne and wearing the double crown of Upper and Lower Egypt. The statue to the left of the entrance was damaged in an earthquake, leaving only the lower part of the statue still intact. The head and torso can still be seen at the statue's feet.  Next to the legs of the colossi, there are other statues no higher than the knees of the pharaoh. These depict Nefertari, Rameses' chief wife, and queen mother Mut-Tuy, his first two sons Amun-her-khepeshef, Rameses, and his first six daughters Bintanath, Baketmut, Nefertari, Meritamen, Nebettawy and Isetnofret.

The entrance itself is crowned by a bas-relief representing two images of the king worshipping the falcon-headed Ra Harakhti, whose statue stands in a large niche. This god is holding the hieroglyph "user" and a feather in his right hand, with Ma'at, (the goddess of truth and justice) in his left; this is nothing less than a gigantic cryptogram for Rameses II's throne name, User-Maat-Re. The facade is topped by a row of 22 baboons, their arms raised in the air, supposedly worshipping the rising sun. Another notable feature of the facade is a stele which records the marriage of Rameses with a daughter of king Hattusili III, which sealed the peace between Egypt and the Hittites”.

Whilst photography is permitted outside, albeit with a ticket, there is a separate ticket for inside photography and the guards are very strict – they prowl all around the inside and check every person taking photos. If illegal, they ensure the photos are deleted. 

“The inner part of the temple has the same triangular layout that most ancient Egyptian temples follow, with rooms decreasing in size from the entrance to the sanctuary. The temple is complex in structure and quite unusual because of its many side chambers. The hypostyle hall is 18 meters long and 16.7 meters wide and is supported by eight huge Osirid pillars depicting the deified Rameses linked to the god Osiris, the god of the Underworld, to indicate the everlasting nature of the pharaoh. The colossal statues along the left-hand wall bear the white crown of Upper Egypt, while those on the opposite side are wearing the double crown of Upper and Lower Egypt. The bas-reliefs on the walls depict battle scenes in the military campaigns the ruler waged. Much of the sculpture is given to the Battle of Kadesh, on the Orontes river in present-day Syria, in which the Egyptian king fought against the Hittites.  The most famous relief shows the king on his chariot shooting arrows against his fleeing enemies, who are being taken prisoner. Other scenes show Egyptian victories in Libya and Nubia”. 

“From the hypostyle hall, one enters the second pillared hall, which has four pillars decorated with beautiful scenes of offerings to the gods. There are depictions of Rameses and Nefertari with the sacred boats of Amun and Ra-Harakhti. This hall gives access to a transverse vestibule in the middle of which is the entrance to the sanctuary. Here on a black wall are rock cut sculptures of four seated figures: Ra-Horakhty, the deified king Rameses, and the gods Amun Ra and Ptah. Ra-Horakhty, Amun Ra and Ptah were the main divinities in that period and their cult centers were at Heliopolis, Thebes and Memphis respectively”. 

The axis of the temple was positioned by the ancient Egyptian architects in such a way that on October 22 and February 22, the rays of the sun would penetrate the sanctuary and illuminate the sculptures on the back wall, except for the statue of Ptah, a god connected with the underworld who always remained in the dark. People gather at Abu Simbel to witness this remarkable sight, on October 21 and February 21 - dates supposedly being the king's birthday and coronation day respectively. 

I knew about Queen Nefertiti but this was the first time I learnt about Queen Nefertari. 

The Small Temple, built for Queen Nefertari, marks the second time a ruler dedicated a temple to his wife (the first was built by Akhenaten for Nefertiti). It was also the first time that the statue of the wife, Nefertari in this case, was carved the same size as the image of the Pharaoh himself, which is significant in revealing how Rameses II felt about his beloved queen. Usually, the wives statues never measured higher than the Pharaoh’s knees, but Nefertari’s statues was a full 10 meters (32 feet) high.  Nefertari’s temple is also aligned to the east. It is about 28 meters (92 feet) long x 12 meters (40 feet) high. The entrance is marked by six colossal figures. There are four figures of Rameses himself and two of Queen Nefertari. Along with the six colossi stand smaller statues that present Rameses and Nefertari’s children.

Just inside the entrance sits a large hall, supported by six pillars, each carved with the head of Hathor, as well as scenes showing the King and Queen making offerings to various other Egyptian gods. On the inner room’s back wall, reliefs show Nefertari being crowned by Isis and Hathor. 

The interior of the Small Temple is not as complex as the Great Temple. At the end of the large hall there is a doorway, leading to another room decorated with scenes of Rameses II and Nefertari with various gods. Further rooms illustrate similar Egyptian scenes.

On the inside pillars are various scenes - the queen playing the sistrum (an instrument sacred to the goddess Hathor), together with the gods and goddesses; Rameses is presenting flowers or burning incense. The capitals of the pillars bear the face of the goddess Hathor. The bas-reliefs in the pillared hall illustrate the deification of the king, the destruction of his enemies in the north and south (in this scenes the king is accompanied by his wife), and the queen making offerings to the goddess Hathor and Mut. 

We had taken a golf buggy from the entrance to the Grand temple and our buggy driver was very kind in that despite many people waylaying him for a ride, he insisted on taking us back on board which was a blessing as the walk back to the entrance is a long uphill exercise. It had been a great three hours for us. Tiring: Yes. Hot – Yes. But we left with awesome memories of Rameses and the Temple to his Queen. That must have been an incredible period when such carvings were done direct on the rock face without any modern tools. Shows you the ingenuity and intelligence of ancient mankind.     

Finally, two amazing photos -locals throwing shawls way up to the ship’s passengers and then getting their money – thrown back in shawls not wanted. The Chinese tourists were as happy as the felucca guy. Commerce and tourism go hand in hand. 

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